Can Someone Really Get Addicted to Gadgets?

Medical Video: Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Is it that every time you watch a movie in a movie theater, do you still check your cellphone? While beinghangout with friends, you instead join in chatting on your own with a cellphone?

You might not want to admit that you are "addicted". It's okay, because many experts agree with you. Dr. David Greenfield, for example. The assistant clinical professor of psychiatric diseases from the University of Connecticut, to TIME said that only a few people qualified as mobile addicts.

"But indeed many people overuse their smartphones," added the founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction.

Greenfield explained the boundary between overload and addiction is "gray" or not yet clear. However, you will become a mobile addict when you cannot stop using gadgets such as smartphones or tablets, even to the point of endangering your life.

"Good when you are meeting in the office or driving a vehicle, if you can't resist the urge to use a cellphone, even if you know you shouldn't use it, this condition is a sign that you are already addicted, "said Greenfield.

Professor of marketing from Baylor University, Dr. James Roberts agrees with Greenfield's opinion. The author of a book about mobile addictionToo Much of a Good Thing This makes a list of the danger signs that you are already addicted to gadgets.

The most important signs are that you cannot escape from your handphone or your main gadget, and not only other people say it, but you realize it too.
If you feel anxious, want to be angry, or feel uncomfortable when your cellphone is not near you, it is a danger sign that you have started to become addicted.
If you are still determined to use your gadget at times of high risk, and you also know you should not do it, this means you cannot control your desire to use the gadget and maybe you are already at the stage of addiction.
If you have been using your cellphone for a long time, but still desire to add a "dose" of use such as people who use drugs or drink alcohol, that is also a sign that you are addicted.

Researchers still disagree

Greenfield and Roberts are researchers who argue that the limits of addiction and overuse of mobile phones are still gray. Another with Dr. Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies from Nottingham Trent University, who told Digital Trends that most people who often use or play their cellphones cannot be categorized as addicted.

The director of the International Gaming Research Unit added, "It's only because something is very important in your life, and you take it anywhere, and when you forget it you feel like your hands are gone, it doesn't mean you are addicted."

Because mobile phones are now our primary need for communication, making us often in contact with the internet, having many functions to help us work and seek entertainment, Dr. Mark says it's only natural that we feel the phone is important.

Often using a cellphone for too long, generally improves quality of life, Dr. Mark, although there will always be some minor problems, with any technology, which makes us overuse them.

Dr. Mark also explained, although we might use mobile phones excessively, what makes addiction in this problem according to him is not a gadget, but an internet. So we are not addicted to playing our cellphones, but we are addicted to "surfing" on the internet.

"There is a big difference between addiction on the internet and internet addiction. Addiction on the internet, can be playing games, gambling, shopping, consuming sexual content, and these people are not internet addicts. They use internet media to fill their opium for other things, and are exactly the same for cellphones or smartphone, "Said Dr. Mark.

A study in 2011 published in the journal Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, as reported WebMD, also explained that we are not addicted to mobile phones, but are more addicted to the "checking habits" that increase the use of our mobile phones (including often checking the latest news, emails, or updates on our social media).

The study found several triggers for this habit, and one of them was bored. In addition, mobile users check their mobile phones on average 35 times a day, about 30 seconds every time they check their cellphones.

We may be obsessed, not addicted

Dr. Larry Rosen from the Department of Psychology, California State University, said that many people are not addicted, but are more likely to be obsessed with our cellphones. "We found that obsession is the need to reduce impurity, which makes us have a habit of using mobile phones," Dr. Larry.

In a study, a number of people who were the subjects of their cellphone research were taken away from them for 75 minutes. As a result, heavy users showed increased anxiety in 10 minutes. The anxiety continues to increase in the next hour. Average users show no change in anxiety and some time later shows some increase in anxiety, but not much.

Dr. Larry explained, what makes us want to always use our cellphones, all are related to communication problems, not because of anxiety left behind update funny videos or show interesting on TV that we can see on the internet.

"I think we are worried because now we have many lines of communication, and we use everything in turn. Many people feel they must immediately reply to a message, or post something, comment on someone else's post, give likes, or whatever it is, "continued Dr. Larry.

Because of these habits, in the end our sleep hours are disrupted. Especially according to Dr. Larry is a young adult who is most affected, because when you want to sleep, you still like to check your cellphone, so that your brain stays active and doesn't rest. Therefore, the effects that arise later can be more severe, such as difficulty remembering things, lack of ability to learn, or even thinking clearly.

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